Carrot cake with an indian flavor

1 1/2 ts Vegetable oil
      1 c  Unbleached white flour
           -- plus extra for dusting
      1 ts Baking soda
    1/4 ts Salt
      2 lg Eggs
    1/4 ts Ground cardamom seeds
      1 c  Granulated sugar
    1/4 c  Softened clarified butter
           -- (ghee)
  1 1/2 c  Grated carrots
           -- firmly packed
      2 tb Chopped pistachios
      2 tb Chopped blanched almonds
      2 tb Raisins
           Edible silver foil (opt.)
 
  "A characteristic sweet of southern India is carrot halvah, a rich, sweet
  reduction of carrots and spices that is almost fudgelike in consistency.
  This cake falls somewhere between this traditional treat and the popular
  American carrot cake.  It has a dense texture and the unexpected flavor of
  cardamom, yet doesn't require the tedious cooking and stirring of a halvah.
  
  "Special Indian dishes are often decorated with silver foil -- a
  microscopic thin sheet of edible, flavorless real silver, available in
  Indian groceries.  We have cut edible foil into decorative shapes -- a
  tedious business that must be done in a completely draftless room -- but
  more manageable solid toppings are customary.
  
  "Serve this nontraditional ending to your Indian meal with coffee that has
  been brewed with a few cardamom seeds."
  
  Rub a round cake pan that is 9 inches in diameter and 1-1/2 inches in
  height with the vegetable oil and then dust it very lightly with flour.
  Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  
  Sift 1 cup flour with the baking soda and salt.
  
  Beat the eggs well in a large bowl.  Add the cardamom, sugar, and clarified
  butter.  Keep beating until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
  
  Add the sifted flour mixture to the ingredients in the large bowl and fold
  it in gently with a spatula.  Add the carrots, pistachios, almonds, and
  raisins.  Fold them in gently as well.
  
  Turn the cake batter into the oiled and floured cake pan and bake for 35 to
  45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and
  the top is golden red.  Decorate top with edible silver foil.
  
  * Source: World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking - by Madhur Jaffrey *
  Published in: The Herb Companion - February/March 1993 * Typed for you by
  Karen Mintzias